Chapter 1

Darth Vader
watched as the flames licked at his black armor. It seemed fitting.
His soul, the soul of Anakin Skywalker died in the fire of molten
lava. Now his body will crumble in fire as well.

From behind
the funeral pyre Luke's gaze wandered through the darkness of the
night and for a moment Vader almost believed his son could see him. A
wry smile grazed his lips at the thought. It was silly, of course.
Vader was dead, for good this time and Luke wouldn't ever be able to
see him again. The Sith Lord didn't know how long he would be able to
hold onto the force with his mind alone. Soon his spirit would be
whisked away and then he wouldn't be able to see Luke anymore either.

But then his
son smiled back at him and actually waved.

Vader
blinked in shock. He looked down at himself. No, he was still nothing
but a blue-white spirit. He looked just like he had done the day
before he'd had his limps severed. It was the form he had chosen when
he found out he could give his soul an appearance, even if just for
himself. Nobody else seemed to be able to see him – he had wandered
around the remains of the imperial navy and later the rebel
celebration for almost half an hour in search for his son only to
find him far away from the feast, taking care of his dead body. He'd
stayed true to his word after all. Luke didn't leave him alone, he'd
brought his body back from the Death Star before it blew up, even
through he risked his own life doing so. Such loyalty, undeserved
too, simply eluded Vader. He did not understand how his son could be
such a shining light. He was so pure, so innocent and believed in the
good where darkness had been at home for decades.

He
was weak too. Vader had been able to easily overpower him in every of
their duels. The only time Luke had been able to get an advantage
over him had been when he'd drawn on the dark side in his anger, when
he for just a moment, attacked with the intent to kill. It had thrown
Vader off his track. He'd been reminded of his own fall and the pain
of the memory had distracted him for just a second. A second that had
cost him his hand – not that it was a great loss, it being
mechanical and all.

Yes,
Luke was weak. He wasn't a great sword fighter like Darth Maul. He
didn't have much finesse like Darth Tyrannis. He didn't have Vader's
raw power and he most certainly wasn't a genius like Sidious. He had
a lot of potential but the force didn't obey him as it did Vader. He
didn't even know how to reflect Sith lighting. Then again, Luke had
only had a few month of Jedi training. Considering that, his progress
was mind-boggling. He was weak for a Jedi but incredibly powerful for
a Padawan. The sad thing was that as the only Jedi alive, he would
never get any further teaching, light or dark. He would never reach
his full potential.

Luke
had turned away from the funeral pyre. He went to join the
celebration again and Vader turned away as well, ready to go to
wherever the force let him. However, as he started paying attention
to his surroundings again, he was suddenly met with the white spirits
of two Jedi he knew all too well. Master Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi both
stood there, the first gripping his glimmer stick while the latter
one had his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"You..."
he muttered, resentment raising its head immediately. His shock was
momentarily overriding his instinct to draw his lightsaber.
Nonetheless he felt the weapon materializing at his hip – or not
materializing, since he was but a projection. Why hadn't he heard or
sensed them before? It must be a side effect of being dead.

"There
is no peace, there is serenity," Kenobi said with a slight
smile. "Have you forgotten?“

Vader
shook his head mutely.

"Turned
back to the light, you have," Yoda explained and nodded to the
pyre. "Rid yourself of the darkness in your heart, you have,
Skywalker.“

"That
is not...“ That is not my name, he wanted to say, but found
the words died in his throat. He hadn't turned back. Or had he? He'd
certainly turned against his Master and he'd done so not to take his
place but to protect his son. That is not how a Sith would act. At
the same time, it was not how a Jedi would act either, what with the
fear of attachment and all.

"It
is good to have you back, Anakin," Kenobi said smiling.

Vader
stared at him. He'd spend so many years hating this man. Hating him
for mutilating him, for taking Padme from him, for hiding his son –
his children – from him. Now Kenobi looked at him as if he'd
forgiven him.

Kenobi
had no right to forgive him. It should be the other way around!

The
Jedi's smile faltered as if he could sense the rising darkness in
Vader's heart. Maybe he could.

"Am
I going to spend the rest of eternity with you now?" Vader all
but spat. He would love to kill Kenobi again and again but he doubted
it was possible in their current state.

"If
the will of the force it is," Yoda answered. "The only Jedi
whose spirit the force has kept near the mortal realm, we are not.
Surprise me if you, as the Chosen One, will join us, it will not.“

"Is
that so?" he asked with a scoff. "How many darksiders have
joined you in the force?“ His non-existing stomach clenched
painfully at the prospect of having to face even more Jedi, a large
part of whom he had probably killed himself.

"How
can you still insist that I am the Chosen One after everything that
happened?“ He'd done everything he could to go against that damn
prophecy. A part of him had always enjoyed doing so just because it
meant opposing the Jedi.

Yoda
shook his head. "Misinterpreted, the prophecy has been. For
hundreds of years, ruled the light has. To bring balance to the
Force, chase away the light you had to. When the darkness got too
overwhelming, chase away you did it as well. Now nothing is left of
both Sith and Jedi teaching. Rise to new heights unhindered by the
past, a new generation can.“

"Then
all this time," Vader asked with a growl, "it was my
destiny to destroy both
orders... so they can be rebuild?“

"I
think it is very much obvious with you," Kenobi replied, "that
nothing, not even fate can tell you what to do. Even if your destiny
might have been set, the way of how you go about fulfilling it was
always up to you.“

"Told
us about your wife, you should have," Yoda mused. "Tried to
rebuild the order, we might have.“

If
KenobiIs words were like a knife to his stomach, Yoda gave it a good
twist.

"Even
if I told you, it would not have made a difference!" he
insisted. "You never trusted me, you would have expelled me from
the order! You, all of you, you were jealous and afraid of my power!
I could not count on help, that is why I did what I did!“

"But
you didn't even ask," Kenobi replied sadly.

“Blinded
by our fear of the darkness, we have been. Failed, we all have,"
Yoda said. "Know this, I do now.“

And
wasn't that even worse, because
it meant that no matter what he did, he had always been destined
to fall-

"It
is time for us," Kenobi whispered and looked into the distance.
"The force is calling for us.“ He turned to Vader again. "Will
you come with us?“

"Do
I have a choice?" he snarled.

"I
believe you do. At the very least, I believe you deserve one,"
his old Master said sadly.

"Then
I refuse to go with you," Darth Vader answered resolutely. "If
I have followed the will of the force for all my life, let me follow
my own will in death at least.“

Kenobi
didn't look surprised but he looked sad still. Vader couldn't figure
him out. Anger he would have understood, fear he would've welcomed.
But Kenobi's... mourning was unsettling.

The
two old Jedi took their leave and Vader watched as their spirits
faded away. He felt the force tug at his mind and he raised his head
to look up into the sky.

His
old Jedi Master had often said that the force loved him because of
the way it clung to him. It was a side effect of being spawned by
midi-chlorians. The force had always easily replied to his every
command, both as a Jedi and as a Sith. He had often heard it whisper
during meditation, guiding his way. The problem was that he'd heard
it whisper both from the light and from the dark side and at that
time, the dark had simply been louder.

Now
he wanted nothing more then for the force to finally shut up. He
wanted to be free. He hadn't been free as a child, bound in
slavery. He hadn't been free as a Jedi, first bound to his Master as
a Padawan and then bound to the Council as a Knight. He hadn't even
been free as a Sith, bound to the Emperor. He was so sick of having a
Master. He was too emotional to give up on all attachment but
he yearned so much to be the one doing the binding himself.

And
for once in his life, he felt a faint sense of acknowledgment from
the force. A faint breeze seemed to brush over his face. His wish
would be granted.

Letting
out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, Vader felt like a
weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He gave up all resistance
and allowed the force to take a hold of his spirit. Wherever it would
take him, it had better be a damn good place. Preferably one where he
would be able to see his family again one day.

When
Darth Vader felt his senses return to him, he felt momentarily
overwhelmed. He was lying on his back in the middle of an empty
wasteland but there were so many information storming at him. He
could feel the sand and the heat on his bare skin. He could smell
the dust and Sith had it been long since he last smelled
anything! He took a deep breath and other then in his spirit
form, this time he actually felt how the air flooded his lungs and it
felt incredible!

Slowly
the Sith Lord sat up and marveled at his organic hands and feet,
covered by his black Jedi robes. He looked around and enjoyed the
sight of the Tatooine twin suns, unblemished by the red tint of his
mask.

Wait
a moment. Tatooine?

Indeed,
he would recognize those suns anywhere. It seemed he was on his
planet of origin – he would never call it home – and he had no
idea how he got here.

A
bit shakily he got to his feet. He could feel the force in the air
around him but curiously, the underlying whisper that usually came
with it was absent.

Vader
resumed a meditation pose and silently posed his questions.

Am I on
Tatooine?

He
got a sense of agreement, further cementing his suspicion.

Is this my
afterlife?

Afterlife,
this word echoed in his mind a few times, but there was something
wrong about it... This wasn't his afterlife, but his life.

What
did that mean? It could not...

Am I alive
again?

The
force hummed in contentment.

For
a moment, Vader felt his jaw slack. Could it even do that?

Why am I
here?

The
force never actually spoke, but it usually nudged his thoughts
in one direction or another. He expected the light to tell him he had
to right his wrongs, or the dark to finish what he began. Sometimes
it was hard to ascertain which side spoke to him, but it had gotten
easier during the years – mainly because he'd learned to shut out
the light.

But
now, he got nothing. Not the slightest push. His mind was
completely blank.

What
should I do?, he asked again but
the force stayed silent. He thought maybe he'd lost the connection.
In which direction can I find life forms the fastest?, he
asked next and this time he got a nudge of the force to go west. He
hadn't lost his connection but then, why wouldn't the force tell him
what to do?

It
was then that he realized, there was nothing for him to do.
He'd fulfilled his destiny and the force had granted his wish. It had
set him free. He could still use the force and had all his powers,
but there were no responsibilities connected to them anymore.

Just
to test this Vader called upon the dark side and it filled him up
instantly, chasing away the ache in his body from lying in the sun
for so long, sharpening his senses and filling him with excitement –
but not much else.

Usually he
had to bait the dark by offering it intense feelings such as pain or
anger and it swallowed these emotions, returning them to him tenfold.
Nothing of that sort happened this time. The power was there, it
filled him up but it didn't take him over. He felt no need to fight
any murderous urges either. When he let go of the power it was
like... It was like coming down from a high, but without the painful
crush at the end. It was beyond puzzling.

In the end,
it was up to Vader himself to make a decision. Even though he had
yearned it for so long, he didn't actually know how to
be free. What would he do? Where would he go? He could do anything.
He could take over the Empire in Sidious' stead. It would prevent a
civil war while at the same time he wouldn't have to give up any of
the power he got so used to.

But
Vader was more of an action person, he knew he didn't have the
patience to sit on a throne the whole day. It was one of the main
reasons why he hadn't betrayed his Master before.

He
could try to find his children and work with them and the rebels to
reinstate a republic. Maybe together they'd be able to prevent most
of the bloodshed. But despite everything Vader felt he didn't really
want the Empire to be
destroyed, the empire he had spend so much time building with his own
two hands. He had spend so much time hunting down rebels and his
disgust for them was real. He – dare he say it? - loved his
children. But that had nothing to do with his political views and he
could still hate the rebels. No, it was probably best if they
believed him to be dead, at least for now.

Maybe
he would just stay out of politics. He knew he couldn't do it for
long, he always longed to be in the middle of everything but he felt
he needed some time to decide where his way would lead from here on.
Tatooine was as good a place as any to hide on.

Vader
sat down and began to draw a miniature map of the planet into the
sand. Then he let his finger hover over it, letting the force guide
his movements. As he knew it would, he got no incentive on the
question where to go, but he could at least ascertain his position
that way. He wasn't too far away from the hut that he had inhabited
together with his mother when he was a child. Luke grew up at a
similar place. He'd researched that after finding out who the daring
pilot was that blew up his Death Star. He wasn't too far from Mos
Eisley either, the city where he was most likely to get a transport
off the planet if he so wished. The force did indeed leave him a
choice.

Vader
hesitated but in the end, decided he would go to the hut. He needed
to meditate. When things come to a close you think back to the
beginning.

It
was a long walk and while he grew thirsty with time, he could use the
force to strengthen his body and made it to the hut in record time.
It still seemed to be inhabited. Someone else must've taken the site
for himself.

Vader
felt a rush of anger at the thought but it was a lonely spike and he
didn't feel the darkness rush to his side to feed on it. It was
strange to have his anger just vanish like that. As a Sith he
would've searched for the new owner and killed him just for daring to
live here. Wait, that sounded as if he wasn't a Sith anymore. But he
was. Or was he?

Shaking
his head, Vader closed in on the pathetic abode. It reminded him so
much of the place he was raised at. He felt only one presence in the
hut. Deciding he would find out who lived here before going on a
killing spree, Vader knocked.

A
few seconds passed before the door was opened.

Vader
felt a chill settle in his stomach. This was not... it was not
possible! In front of him there stood his mother!

Or
at least, the woman strongly resembled his mother. She was a lot
younger and it was strange not seeing her in pain. His most recent
memory of her was the one of her dying at the hands of the Tusken and
it was this memory that had overshadowed each and every other until
he could barely remember what her face looked like without blood
stains on it.

Shmi
Skywalker was clearly surprised to see him but she didn't seem to
recognize him.

"Hello,
what can I do for you?" she asked, carefully neutral.

Vader
just stared at her. How could she be alive? Had the force lied? Was
this the afterlife and he was just as dead as her? But then why
didn't she recognize him? He looked barely a few years older then
when she had last seen him, shortly before dying.

"You
don't know me?" he made sure, failing to keep the incredulity
out of his voice.

"I'm
sorry, Sir... I don't remember ever seeing you.“

Vader
flinched back as if she'd hit him. It felt so wrong for
her to call him Sir!

After
a few moments, his mother took a tentative step forward and laid a
calming hand on his shoulder. "Maybe you should sit down for a
moment. You look very tired.“

Vader
nodded mutely and let himself be lead into the hut. He looked around
and everything felt so incredibly familiar. Without him having to
ask, his mother handed him a cup of bantha milk. He drank it
automatically but stopped as soon as the first drop grazed his lips.
It tasted absolutely wonderful.

Maybe
it was the long walk through the desert that had left him dehydrated.
Maybe it was the fact that he'd been fed intravenously while in the
suit and hadn't had the pleasures of actual food and drink let alone
any good ones for two decades. Maybe it was the sudden rush of
emotions from being reminded of his childhood. The taste of this
milk, the milk his mother would always make for him, symbolized
happiness and safety for him. Vader looked up from the cup at his
mother and for the second time in his life he felt like seeing an
angel. This was the one person who had always believed in him, who
had never betrayed him even when he had left her behind in slavery
and been an overall bad son. She had been proud of him when she had
seen him as a Jedi. He liked to think she would've been proud of him
as a Sith too. After all it was unlikely she knew he had managed to
get to her unnoticed. When he held her in his arms in the Tusken
village, she must've thought he fought his way free to her, even
though he had only started killing sand people afterward. He was sure
she knew and yet she said she was proud.

"I'm
your son," he stated breathlessly because he needed her to know,
he needed her to believe him. "I was freed from slavery and
joined the Jedi for some time but left the order. I had a wife and
two children. When I died... When I died, the Force granted me a wish
and sent me here.“ Hesitantly, as if she'd fade if he touched her,
he covered her hand with his, just to see if she was real.

"Tell
me... Are you dead?“

"I-I'm
not...," his mother stuttered, clearly not knowing how to
respond to his speech.

Vader
let out a breath. "In that case... It seems I have been
transported into the past.“

"You
mean like time travel?“

He
nodded and took another sip from that fabulous milk. The shock was
slowly receding. He was still surprised but then again, he was the
Chosen One. Impossible things always happened around him. All the
pain he had to go through... Maybe the Force agreed with Kenobi....
that he deserved another chance. Not to set things right or be
punished for his mistakes but simply to make his own choices.

The
Force hummed around him and made him smile.

Meanwhile,
Shmi leaned forward, carefully studying his face.

"Anakin?"
she asked, shocked that she could actually recognize her sons
features in this stranger.

Vader
nodded, feeling a ridiculous spike of happiness in his heart. His
mother was alive! Wait, did that mean he could prevent her from
dying? Was he actually in the past or in some kind of alternate
universe?

Suddenly
he had his hands full of Shmi as she hugged him tightly. He almost
spilled his milk from the onslaught – he had to force-levitate the
liquid back into the cup.

"What
was that for?" he asked shakily when she finally let go of him.

"You
looked like you could use it," his mother said with a happy
smile. "And it's not every day your son visits you from the
future.“

Vader
chuckled and was surprised by himself a moment later. That had been
the closest he'd gotten to a laugh in ten years.

"No,
I got freed when I was nine...," Vader muttered. "But he
can't hear about this.“"What? Why not?“

Yes,
why not? If Vader met his past self, that erased all chances for the
past to play out as it was supposed to. After all he didn't remember
ever meeting an older version of himself. On the other hand, he
didn't want it to play out exactly as it used to. He still
hadn't decided what to do but he would be damned if he let Padme die
again! She would live and so would his children.

"I'm
not sure if the young Anakin will even come home," Vader
admitted. "It is possible that my presence in this time replaced
his. If it hasn't, I need to stay close to him to be able to
influence certain events that he plays an important role in. He
mustn't know I'm his future self because the Jedi would get me in
trouble if they found out. I'm using what they call the dark side of
the Force and while that isn't forbidden by any law, it would draw
unwanted attention.“

"But
you look so much like him and it will only become more obvious as
time passes. If you want to visit again, how do you want to explain
that?“

"I
suppose I could pretend to be his brother...," he suggested
hesitantly.

Shmi
looked affronted. "I am not nearly old enough to be able to be
your mother. If anything, you'd pass for Ani's...“ She stopped
there and Vader hurried to say:"No! No, I'm not going
to-“"But it would be the perfect explanation. My pregnancy
was... unexpected to say the least, his father – your father
is unknown, if there even is any and it would explain all the
similarities.“

That
was wrong on so many levels!

"Mother,
I absolutely refuse.“

"I'm
not saying that you should be my husband, silly. You can say you came
back out of a sense of responsibility once you learned of Ani and
that you only stay because of him.“

"I...“
That was such a strange thought. Being back in the past he
would've liked to find Padme but his wife was currently a child.
Would always be a child, compared to him. His children, his whole
reason for giving up his life, would never exist – except of course
if his younger self fell for Padme again. Vader could never be a
father to his son but... but he could be a father to young Anakin. He
remembered how as a child he'd always dreamed of having a father. A
powerful father that would just sweep his mother and him up, would
rip this junk dealer a new one and free them from slavery. It was
funny that he had become a man that could easily follow up on those
dreams now.

"It
is not only because of Ani," Shmi said. "Watto isn't likely
to allow you to come by to visit. But if you pretend to be Ani's
father, I might convince him...“"What are you talking
about? I'm going to free you, mother! You're not staying with that
dealer any longer and neither is my past self!“

"But...
Ani, you know we can't escape. Think about the transmitters. Unless
you traveled through time with a huge amount of money, I don't see
how this will work.“

"I
have something better then money," Vader said with a smirk. "I
have the Force.“

Jasmine Chow:
As I read this story, I was reminded some what of Terry Pratchett, especially some descriptions of politics and economics. The sci-fic setting is quite intriguing. Writing style is quite lovely and grew on me slowly. I was also slightly reminded of Mark Twain, especially his book A Connecticut Ya...

Robert D. Stanley:
I really liked this story. The main character was very well fleshed out (so much so that I sometimes felt sorry for her friends with how little trust she had in them) and your descriptive writing was very good. There are, however a few points I'd like to critique.1. The dual PoVs were interesting...

William Elliott Kern:
A young boy," later found on the highway by General Jarda", was murdered by Barbarians, came back to life as he was an Anmah, age 6 when the loss of his family had occured.........General Jarda, took the boy, gave him a new name, and introduced him to another Anham and the King, This Story is w...

viveksaji1990:
The novel is altogether a fun read although there are way too many typos and spelling-grammar errors. If those could be corrected, I am willing to give a better rating and also convince people to buy the book if the book gets published. Apart from the typos, its a really fun and slightly romantic...

Kevin Brand:
My overall rating: 4.8/5 starsLoved. Every. Second. Everytime I came back to continue reading I got this overwhelming feeling of getting hooked on the first sentence... Over and over and again!The only things that were missing for me include more descriptions on what happens when Reuben touches s...

aoifecollopy22:
I loved how the author had the conflict come back later in the story. Also how they passed time without going over anything. That really helped move the story along. This kept my up for a few hours. YOU SHOULD READ THIS

Hali McGowan:
when will the third book be done? I am absolutely hooked. I red the first two books within less than a week. I'm itching for the third one. The plotline is absolutely wonderful. I've never been much for sci-fi ish books. but you've got me hooked on this series

Muhammed Arfin:
really nice.I m reading novel after a long time.it is really fascinating.those people interested in espionage will like this tale.if one needs to advance his know how about espionage this book is your destination

AASTHA SHARMA:
really...one of the best novel i've ever read...a very touching story....really loved it...thanks for writing such a masterpeice...the struggle of the narrator but still remaining satisfied is the thing that i liked the most...another nice thing is the concept of talking with god...in short i wou...

Other Collections

About Us:

Inkitt is the world’s first reader-powered book publisher, offering an online community for talented authors and book lovers. Write captivating stories, read enchanting novels, and we’ll publish the books you love the most based on crowd wisdom.